Comfort
by hsolodvm
Summary: Short missing scene from Firebrand after Karigan tells the King she wishes to continue her mission to find the P'ehdrose, complete fluff


Comfort

 _Missing scene from Firebrand after Karigan tells the King she wishes to continue her mission to find the P'ehdrose_

Karigan started from sleep, drenched in sweat and panting. She had been having the same nightmare where she was in Nyssa's workshop; however, this time it was Zachery who was tied to Nyssa's table and Karigan was chained to the wall, forced to watch as Nessie slowly tortured him. "No!" She bolted upright. The days following the battle, she had been so exhausted that her sleep had been blessedly dreamless. The image of Zachery in pain and herself helpless to stop it was imprinted on her mind. _Well I won't be getting back to sleep anytime soon._ As she lay in her bed, frustrated and angrier then she cared to admit, she slowly came to a decision. There was one person that kept the nightmares at bay. Karigan had not been plagued with Nyssa's face the entire time she had kept her vigil over Zachery's recovering body. _Maybe if I reassure myself that he is alright, that he is safe, I will be able to return to my slumber._ Finally deciding to hell with it, Karigan slipped out of her cot. It was a dark night with little moonlight. To ensure she was unseen, Karigan brushed her hand over her broach. Quietly making her way through the fortress, Karigan slipped past a stalwart Donal. There was a breeze flowing through the corridor causing the blanket that served as a makeshift door to billow allowing Karigan to enter the king's room undetected. Karigan again touched her broach causing the colors of the world to come back to her. Karigan knelt by his bedside and in the dim light she was able to make out her king's sleeping face. Karigan thought he looked more at peace then he had this entire ordeal. Reassured all was well, Karigan moved to stand back up. A hand shot out of the darkness and grasped her own, startling her. Glancing back at the king's face, his eyes were open and looking at her with longing.

"Please, please stay with me," he whispered.

Karigan looked down at their grasped hands, waiting for the inner battle to tell her this was wrong, that she needed to leave. Interestingly, instead of feeling the guilt she had become accustomed to when thinking of Zachery in any capacity beyond king, she felt a deep sense of peace and rightness. He may have been married to another, but that was no more his doing then her own. Their hearts had belonged to one another years before he was legally bound to Estora. Estora, Karigan thought to herself, would understand the impossibility of denying a forbidden love. As one minute moved into the next, Karigan could not bring herself to let go of Zachery's hand.

Zachery again whispered, "Please Karigan, I need you. I have always needed you."

His smoldering eyes made Karigan warm in places she didn't care to admit. He gently tugged her to him. Karigan, as if in a trance, moved to the bed and slipped under his ragged blanket. The deep cold that had permeated her this whole trip seemed to dissipate as she snuggled into his embrace. They fit together like two halves of a whole. Zachery put his arms around her, mindful of her back, and drew her even closer. "My love," he whispered, "are you a dream?"

Karigan, who would have once frozen or run from such a proclamation, instead found herself grinning. "No Sire, I assure you I am real."

At these words Zachery lifted her chin to look into his eyes, "Tonight, I am not your king. Tonight I am simply Zachery and you are Karigan and that is all that matters."

Karigan held his gaze unwavering and gave him the barest of nods. Zachery's eyes glinted and then his gaze dropped to her lips. Before she knew what she was doing, Karigan leaned forward and captured his lips with her own. Zachery immediately responded. Karigan's kiss started out gentle, but it soon turned into something more demanding. Her hands entwined in Zachery's hair and he shifted her so that she was lying on top of him.

"Karigan," he whispered her name over and over still in disbelief she was here.

Karigan, surprising both of them, straddled his hips with her own and unconsciously ground into him, "My Zachery".

The King started and soon his appreciation for her actions became quite clear to both of them. Karigan blushed a deep red, and ducked her head so that her shorn hair fell between them.

"Don't," he said gently bringing her face back to his, "don't be ashamed. I see you Karigan G'ladheon. You are pure and good."

She gave him a sardonic smile, "my thoughts are not so pure at the moment."

He returned her smile with a laugh, "Aye, perhaps pure was the wrong word. Perhaps I should have said passionate," he said with a growl. Pulling her back to his chest he whispered in her ear, "and I love you for it."

Karigan did freeze this time; it was the second utterance of love since she had come to him.

"Zachery, you know how I feel about you," Zachery was silent and patient letting her come to terms with her feelings in her own time. After a few moments of silence, she admitted "I do love you Zachery."

Zachery's heart nearly exploded from happiness in that moment. He cradled her head and wanted nothing more to stay with her forever in this dark and damp place. He wanted to protect her from the world and keep her somewhere safe. Giving her one last gentle kiss, he tucked her head under his chin and held her close. "I know you need to go in the morning to fulfill your mission just as I need to return to Sacor City. But by the gods, Karigan G'ladheon, hurry back to me. We will have much to _discuss_ when you get back." The king felt her drifting off to sleep, safe in his arms. "Sleep well my love," he uttered before he too returned to the world of sleep.

Before sleep completely claimed her, Karigan's last thought was _much to discuss indeed._ But no matter what the laws of man said, she knew in her heart that what she and Zachery had was not wrong.


End file.
